Back in Peace House
Back in Peace HouseHezki Ezra

Jewish families entered Peace House in Hevron Sunday after a struggle that lasted many years. MK Orit Struk (Jewish Home) called the event a “day of celebration” and “a victory for Jewish justice over the Arab mentality of murder.” Other visitors, including activists Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katzover, were brimming over with joy and a feeling that a meaningful victory had been achieved. 

The home, a large structure located along the strategic road that connects Hevron and Kiryat Arba, was purchased by a Jewish philanthropist and populated by Jewish families, but a court ordered the Jews evicted from the home five years ago pending completion of legal deliberations on the legality of the purchase. In December of 2008, the military forced the Jewish residents out and sealed the house.

In October 2012, the Jerusalem District Court ruled that the house had been legally purchased, but Palestinian Authority Arabs who contested the ownership, encouraged by leftist groups, appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, and claimed that some documents of purchase had been forged.

In March of 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that the purchase was kosher and that the Jews may enter it. The Kiryat Arba – Hevron Local Council expressed great satisfaction with the decision, and demanded that Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon immediately allow residents to re-enter the house. The council also said that it was convinced that the decision would create a positive precedent regarding the return of Jewish families to another contested structure in Hevron, the Machpela House.